How Funeral Rites and Memorials Help With the Grief Process

Funeral rites have existed for as long as we have been recording history. These funeral rites and memorials play an important role in the grief process for a number of reasons. In today’s blog we are going to talk about why funeral rites and memorials are important for processing grief.

Reality

The first reason why funerals and funeral rites are important is because they remind us of the reality of death. Every living creature on this earth will die at some point. Death is a fundamental part of life. Many of us avoid talking about it, but funerals are a public and concrete expression of death. Everything related to funerals from rites to memorials brings us back to the reality of death.

Grief

The funeral is a culturally acceptable time and place to acknowledge grief and sadness. Funerals give us an opportunity to feel our loss in a way that everyone understands. This display of sadness is the first step in healing from grief.

Support

Funerals also show us that there are others who share our grief and are available to support us. Those who gather at funeral or memorial services are displaying publicly that they share your sadness—that you are not alone. We often feel alone in grief, and it is a good thing to see that others also feel a loss.

Status

Another way that funerals help us is that they mark a change in status in a public way. A wife who has lost her husband becomes a widow. Culturally, funerals are an outward sign to others that we have undergone a change in our social status.

All of these points listed above help us to continue on our grief journey. The reason why funeral rites have always been with us is because of their importance to us individually and as a group. 

If you need help planning a funeral, now or anytime, please feel free to call us on the Lower Mainland at (604) 463-8121. 

Maple Ridge Funeral Chapel and Crematorium, based in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, provides has been providing compassionate funeral services on the Lower Mainland for over 60 years. We have deep roots in the community and take great pride in caring ethics and exemplary service. If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about funeral services, please call us at (604) 463-8121.